The Color of Gloom
by OtakuTuesday
Summary: When Murky and Lurky have their plan foiled by Rainbow Brite for the umpteenth time, it seems routine and hopeless. But one day they find just what they need to take over RainbowLand...in a potato sack?
1. Routine

[AN: Hello! Thank you for reading my first Fanfic ever! I know the first chapter's a little short, but the next few are longer, so no worries! And be sure to tell me what you think, I would love some constructive criticism!

Whoops! Almost forgot a disclaimer! I (sadly) do not own Rainbow Brite or any of it's associated characters, content, and whatnot. I do not profit from this story in any way, unless you count the happiness it brings me to write it. And hopefully the enjoyment of others :)

So here we go! Enjoy!]

CHAPTER 1 – Routine

"I'll get you yet, Rainbow Brite!" Murky Dismal yelled as he retreated from Rainbow Brite for the countless time. Rainbow's face wore a usual expression of triumph in combination with a glare toward the short gloomy man. Murky returned her glare with the usual one of his own, cursing her under his breath and stomping angrily towards Lurky. He grabbed his large partner by the arm, dragging him towards their car.

It almost seemed routine, being thwarted like this by his arch rival. He attempts to take over RainbowLand, his plans are stopped every time by its protector, Rainbow Brite, and he yells that he'll not be defeated next time as he drives back into the gloom.

Rainbow kept her hands on her hips disapprovingly until Murky climbed into the Grunge Buggy. Then she crossed her arms and smiled with victory. "You'll never take over RainbowLand, Murky Dismal! As long as I'm around you'll never be victorious!" Her words were so familiar that they didn't have as much impact on him as they originally did.

Almost automatically, Murky yelled after the Color Kids the same words he always yelled after being defeated; "My next plan won't fail! RainbowLand will soon be mine!"

If he said anything else, the Color Kids didn't hear it; the sound of the Grunge Buggy driving away from the color into the gloom was too loud for words to be heard. The exhaust trail the car left hung in the air, marking their usual escape route back to The Pits.

"That Rainbow Brite thinks she's so clever," Murky sulked in the sidecar during the drive back. "Just because she always thwarts my evil plans every time doesn't mean that she'll be able to stop my next one. It'll be my best one yet!" His confidence returned, and he straightened up in his seat. "Yeah, I'll just have to keep trying. I'll soon make a plan so genius, I'll be able to outwit even Rainbow herself! And then no one will be able to stop me from returning RainbowLand to the way it should be!" He laughed aloud, his spirits lifted from his motivational speech to himself.

He turned his eyes back to the road, but then something unusual and unexpected happened for the first time in quite awhile.

"Watch out, Lurky!" he suddenly yelled as Lurky almost drove the Buggy into a small, unfamiliar object in the middle of the road. When he realized that it was not something commonly seen in the Pits, such as a large rock or a dead tree limb, he yelled, "Stop the car!"

Lurky hit the brakes so suddenly that Murky was nearly thrown from the sidecar. They stopped just a few feet after the bundle, and Murky backtracked the distance on foot to examine it, Lurky right behind him.

It was a potato sack, just like the ones the Color Kids used for their sack races at picnics. It said "RainbowLand" across one side in dark red letters, confirming Murky's assumption that it was one of the sack race sacks.

"What's that, Murky?" Lurky asked; puzzled as to why an item from Rainbow Land was randomly lying in the Pits.

"What does it look like, banana brain? It's a potato sack!" Murky replied, reaching down to pick it up. It was not empty.


	2. Change of Plans

[A.N. Here's a much longer chapter 2! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and hope that I'm getting the personalities well enough. Although I think Lurky says things that are a little too smart. :P

Again, same disclaimer applies. I don't own anything. Sadface.]

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 2 – Change of Plans<strong>

When Murky reached down to pick up the seemingly empty potato sack, it rustled gently. Murky backed away quickly for fear that something dangerous might be inside. Lurky, on the other hand, showed no fear as he tenderly took the sack in his large hands and lifted it up to his eye level to see what was inside of it.

"Careful, Lurky, you don't know what's in it!" Murky warned, "It could be a trap by Rainbow Brite."

Lurky smiled widely in delight at the contents of the sack.

"No, Murky," Lurky laughed happily. "It's not a trap at all! See for yourself!" He nearly dropped the sack in excitement. Murky peered into the sack and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things properly.

There was a baby in the sack.

It wasn't an ordinary baby, though. This baby, despite being the size of a newborn, had a full head of hair that reached her shoulders. It was a beautiful shade of brown; dulling the sack's color in comparison. Murky was slightly repulsed; he never knew a color that was typically found in more gloomy areas could be so…colorful. The baby slept peacefully, her tiny chest rising and falling slowly.

"Isn't she so cute, Murky?" Lurky cooed, lifting the baby out of the sack and into his arms.

"Ugh, it's disgusting."

"It's just a baby. What's so disgusting about her?"

"Not the baby, french-fry brain. The colors! That's the most repulsive shade of brown I've ever seen!"

"Can we keep her? Can we, Murky?" Lurky started bouncing with enthusiasm, but suddenly stopped for fear of stirring the baby. He held her gently in his arms, slowly rocking her back and forth while watching her slumber.

"Give me a moment to think." Murky rubbed his temples in frustration. A baby? That's just what he needed after a hard day's work of trying to take over RainbowLand; responsibility.

But wait a minute…his mind flashed back to when Rainbow Brite first came to RainbowLand…she had a baby with her that time, too. Granted, it turned out to be the Sphere of Light, but it had been a baby, nonetheless. Was Rainbow Brite trying to trick him, or did she somehow lose another baby in the Pits?

Either way, he couldn't just leave her there. They'd have to hang on to her until Rainbow came for her. He gave a heavy sigh before speaking. He wasn't left with any choice.

"Well I suppose we'll have to take her with us. We can't just leave her here. Who knows how long she's been there already?" He reached out his arms to take the baby, and was surprised at how light and fragile the little thing was. He could feel his heart soften a bit when she yawned widely and shifted in her sleep, but he quickly remembered that he hated everything that had to do with color, including the little baby's rich brown hair.

Murky promised to himself that he would not become soft and actually care for this baby; Lurky would undoubtedly develop his parental side very quickly, but someone had to be the level-headed evil mastermind. He had enough on his plate without this new creature in his life, and he wasn't about to let her ruin it.

"Let's go before something else happens," Murky said, walking back over to the Grunge Buggy.

"Okay, Murky," Lurky started to walk over, but stopped, turned back around, and retrieved the potato sack. He climbed into the driver's seat, draping the sack over the seat before he did.

"What are you taking that for?" Murky asked, unhappy that they were taking more color with them.

"Might as well," Lurky replied, starting up the Buggy. "We shouldn't leave anything behind. Besides, I've always wanted to be in a potato sack race." He smiled happily. Murky rolled his eyes.

While Lurky drove the Grunge Buggy (very slowly and quietly, as to not wake the baby), Murky held the child while trying to think about the future with their new addition. Perhaps having another person, especially one he could raise to be however he wanted, would not be so bad. He could raise her to be a mastermind like him, and perhaps make her his assistant. Lurky could only do so much before he became annoying or messed up his plans. Maybe another person was exactly what he needed to aid him in his attempts at domination over RainbowLand. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"You," he began whispering to the baby, "are going to be the greatest weapon that I've ever had. I'm going to raise you to hate colors as much as I do, maybe even more! And since Rainbow Brite doesn't know about your existence, she'll never anticipate a third person helping me take over RainbowLand! It's my greatest plan yet!"

He laughed a little too loudly, and the baby started to stir. He quickly stopped, but it was too late.

She slowly opened her large eyes. They were an even more beautiful shade of brown than her hair, a shade found nowhere even in the most bright and colorful parts of RainbowLand. Murky almost fell out of the sidecar in surprise. Luckily, Lurky had just parked the Grunge Buggy and shut it off.

It seemed more quiet that usual at their home in the Pits, and the two watched as the baby's eyes focused on Murky holding her, and then to Lurky, whose own brown color could not even compare to her hair, or more her eyes.

Instead of crying, as Murky expected the baby would, she let out an innocent giggle, as if she was amused at the appearances of her two new caretakers. They were taken aback, expecting her to wail, but were relieved that she didn't do what they expected.

She laughed once more before yawning again and nestling her head in her blanket and falling back to sleep.

"And so it begins," Lurky said quietly, taking the baby back into his arms and leading the way into their home.

"Oh shut up, marshmallow brain," Murky sighed, leading the walk up into the lair.

He knew that the worst was coming, and that taking care of this child would be his greatest challenge yet. But he knew that she was the best chance he had at taking over RainbowLand, and at this stage, he would do whatever it took.


	3. First Night

Whee chapter 3! This story's pretty much official, I guess! Originally, this chapter was only about 300 words, but I wanted it to be longer than chapter 1, which I want to be the shortest. It's a good goal to set, and makes more story! :) Again, I ask you to please review, I want to know what people think!

Disclaimer again: See disclaimer in chapter one. I don't own the cool stuff.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 3 – First Night<strong>

Murky and Lurky barely slept a wink that night.

Murky opened the back door to the lair, leading the way into the main room. Lurky laid the potato sack upon the floor and placed the girl in the middle. It was a strange sight, such a small baby on such a large sack in the middle of a stone floor.

Murky started for the door to his laboratory, but Lurky started speaking before Murky reached it.

"What happens now, Murky? We don't know anything about taking care of a baby." He made the effort to whisper, as the stone walls tended to echo their voices.

Murky sighed and turned around slowly. "I don't know, Lurky. I guess I didn't think this through when I agreed that we could keep her. But she's our responsibility now, and you'd better not mess it up!" He finished and quickly turned and disappeared into his lab, leaving Lurky alone with the baby.

Lurky crouched down next to the baby, whispering quietly to her while she slept.

"You're not so bad, are you?" he patted her head, which comforted him. "Don't worry, Murky's not so bad when you get to know him. He's really smart, and even though he says mean things, he does care about me. And I know already that he cares about you. You wait and see; we'll be the best friends there ever was!"

Lurky straightened up to get another blanket for the girl. He would make sure that she was well taken care of. After all, it was up to them to make that happen. Maybe she would soften Murky's cold, gloomy heart and make him less harsh. But he was getting ahead of himself. Right then he needed to learn how to take care of the child, and fast. It didn't seem like Murky would make the effort anytime soon. But he'd open up eventually.

Night fell, which wasn't much of a difference in the Pits, given that it was always dark and gloomy there. But the sky did get darker and the moon was able to peek out from behind the clouds- Moonglow was known to give special attention to the night sky above the Pits.

Murky collapsed in his bed, exhausted from the long day's many events. They all swam through his mind, new memories almost the same to old ones, so that he couldn't tell what happened that day and what happened last week. But there was one event that he remembered distinctly.

He committed the discovery of the baby to memory; nearly running her over in the Grunge Buggy, seeing the tiny thing at the bottom of the sack, and bringing her back to their home. It all seemed so unreal, he half expected to fall asleep and wake up and it have been all a dream; but he knew that it was real life.

He sighed and settled into his covers, pulling his blankets over himself to keep warm in the cold of the lair. He fell asleep, but he was not out for very long when the baby began to cry.

The baby, despite being quiet for the ride and walk to the lair, was now crying with such volume that if anyone else were living in the Pits, they wouldn't be able to sleep either. She wailed and wailed as if she were in extraordinary pain, her face bright scarlet and her cheeks soaked with tears.

Murky got up for the umpteenth time to see what he could try to do to pacify her…again. The first time, she was too cold. Too hot. Hungry. Needed a diaper change (an experience he left to Lurky afterwards). No matter what Murky did to make her stop crying, she would pick up where she left off whenever he or Lurky was out of the room.

Lurky stumbled in as well this time, rubbing his eyes from sleepiness. "What's wrong with her, Murky?" he asked, picking her up. As soon as his large hands came in contact with her, she immediately stopped sobbing and looked up at him with her shiny eyes.

"That's better, isn't it? All you needed was a little company." he began to rock back and forth in his red sneakers to lull the baby back to sleep, but seemed to rock himself to sleep as well. His eyelids drooped slowly, and he fell backwards onto the floor. The baby was nestled safely in his fur on his stomach, and they both breathed slowly in sleep.

Murky rolled his eyes and yawned. It was going to be a long…however long it took for babies to grow up in this world. Would it be longer or shorter than it took on Earth? Would it be a few years, or many more years? He pushed this thought to the back of his mind and decided to focus on the present.

He thought he might try to take advantage of the peace and quiet and hurried back into his bedroom, but he no sooner pulled over his covers when he heard the now familiar sound of a whimper.

He sighed, threw back his blankets, and walked back into the room where the other two lay. The baby was looking right at him, and lifted a tiny arm in an attempt to beckon him over.

Murky walked over and sat on the floor beside Lurky. The baby's hand was still extended and Murky put a finger in her tiny hand. She squeezed it and smiled, then yawned and closed her eyes.

Despite falling asleep, her grip on Murky's finger did not lessen. It was surprisingly strong for an infant. He couldn't free his finger without risking waking her up, so he had no choice but to lean his head against Lurky's large stomach and try to fall asleep there.

"You sure are something," he mumbled sleepily before he too closed his eyes and drifted off into his own colorless dreams.


	4. Growing Up Fast

[It's been such a long time since I've written this, but I felt inspired to continue! So here's chapter 4.]

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 4 – Growing Up Fast<p>

"It's finally complete! My new and improved gloom ray is sure to make me victorious!" Murky said proudly, running into the other room where Lurky was.

Lurky turned around when Murky entered the room, and motioned with his hand for Murky to come over.

"What is it, Lurky?" he asked, slowly walking to his partner's side. Then he saw exactly what.

If they had not had suspicions that the baby was strange already, they would have wondered what a toddler was doing in their lair. She had been with them for a week, but had grown the equivalent to a year in age overnight last night. She was not lying down in the fenced-off space that the two had provided as a play area; she was crawling around, observing her surroundings, and standing up against the fence to look at the two.

"Isn't she just the cutest, Murky?" Lurky patted the girl's hair, and received a giggle in response.

"Lurky, have you noticed that she's growing much faster than…normal babies?" Murky asked nervously, eying the girl with a glare as if it were her own fault. She returned the glare, laughed, and returned to her toys.

"Yeah, I mean just a week ago she was just a cute little baby and now she's a cute bigger baby!" Lurky said, apparently pleased with the situation.

"No, cheese brain, it means that in just a few weeks she'll be a kid, able to think for herself and then we'll have a real crisis on our hands! What if Rainbow Brite finds out about her? My entire plan will be ruined!" he started pacing the floor, one hand behind his back and one at his jaw, scratching it in thought.

"Well, Murky, how can Rainbow Brite find out about her if she never leaves?" Lurky asked, lifting the girl out of the playpen at her request. "If she never leaves the Pits, Rainbow Brite will never see her."

Murky's eyes lit up at Lurky's last sentence. "That's genius, Lurky!" He took the girl from Lurky's arms and swung her around, pleased. He then realized what he did and quickly handed her back to Lurky, embarrassed.

"That's the first time you've ever said that to me, Murky," Lurky said, a tear forming in his eye.

"Don't start blubbering, dodo brain," Murky replied, "you just said the right thing at the right time. Don't forget who the true genius here is."

"Yes, Murky." Lurky replied automatically.

"Ma…key."

The two froze at the unfamiliar sound. It came from Lurky's arms, a voice which neither of them had heard before. The girl had spoken her first word. She repeated it with enthusiasm.

"Ma-key. Ma-key."

"Oh, Murky, she's saying your name!" Lurky enthused. "It's her first word!" He danced around, swinging the girl in his arms with delight. "Murky! That's right! You're so wonderful!"

"Ma-key, whee!" the girl sang, swinging through the air in Lurky's arms.

"Well, at least now she can reply when I talk to her," Murky grumbled. He still didn't want her to be there. She was taking up so much time being taken care of that he hadn't had time to devise a plan to take over RainbowLand for a while. All he had accomplished that week was finishing his gloom ray, and that wasn't all that special because he had been working on it for several months.

A "Hey, Murky," from Lurky interrupted his thoughts.

"What is it, Lurky?"

"I've been thinking…"

"Have you?" Murky replied, slightly amused.

"Yeah, I have," Lurky said, "her saying your name got me thinking. Why doesn't _she_ have a name?"

Murky thought this over. He _had_ considered giving her a name, mostly because he was growing tired of calling her "the baby" or "the girl" all the time. But he knew that if he named her, he might start getting attached to her. Then again, he also knew that Lurky wouldn't accept her not having a name. He sighed again.

"Okay, we can give her a name. But," Murky warned, "_nothing_ having to do with color. It's bad enough just _looking_ at her, I don't need to be reminded every time I hear her name, either. Hmm…" he thought aloud, "something that reminds me of gloom. It'll help her get it into her head that she cannot like color at all…"

"I've got it!" he exclaimed suddenly, getting full attention of both Lurky and the girl. "Shadow. It's perfect."

"Shadow," Lurky repeated. "It's a pretty name." He looked into the girl's eyes. "Do you like that? Should we call you Shadow?"

The girl replied with just a giggle, clapping her hands together in delight.

"It's settled then. Shadow. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work on my inventions." At his last statement, he stalked out of the room, back to his laboratory.

He couldn't wait until Shadow was old enough for him to start teaching his scheming ways to. He could finally have someone to have intelligent conversations with, to build elaborate and complicated machines together, and to share a mutual hatred of color. Lurky really liked colors, but he wasn't going to let Shadow be the same. He was going to make her hate colors like him if it was the last thing he did.


End file.
